:, SOCIOLINGUISTICS Sead,Course Description ¥e Course Objective: provide students with a basie coverage of most The main objective of this course is to of the topies dealt with jn soeiolinguistics and psycholinguistics, This course offers ay introduction tothe study of the relationship between language and socicty. It will cover topics [uch gs languoge variation according to class, ethnicity, and gender; language interaction od Sines of entity and ideology: multilingualism, language policy and linguistic tights, On successfull completion of this course, students will be able: 1. to distinguish certain types of variation in language such as dialect, standard language, idiolect, register, and accent. 2 to know the relationship between language and social context, regional, social, sex, and ethnic varieties 3: fe demonstrate an understanding of some sociolinguistic phenomena lke pidgins, cteoles, bitingualism,diglossia, code-switching, and many ofthe well-established ‘major findings in the field of psycholingvistics, 4 understand the relations! Setween applicd linguistics, second language acquisition, and psycholinguistics, and have the potential to study applied linguistics and SLA from a psycholinguistic perspective. Course Outlin Introduction to sociolinguisties Language Varieties: Langunge, Dialects, Regional Dialects, Social Dialects Language Varieties: Registers, Styles, Idiolects and Accents Diglossia, Bilingualism and Multilingualism Code-Choice, Code-Switching and Code-Mixing , Lingua Francas, Pidgin and Creole languages Speech Communi Language and Culture: The Whorfian Hypothesis, Taboo and Euphemism Teaching Methodology: Lectures, presentations, discussions, debates... Textbook: Ennaji, M. and F. Sadigi. (1994). Applications of Modem Linguities, Casablanca: Aftique Orient. Hudson, R. (1980). Sociolinguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Trudgill, P. (1988). Sociolinguistics: Am Introduction to Languape and Society, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wardhaugh, R. (1986). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, New York: Basil Blackwell Ltd.Sociolinguistics: A General Overview What is Sociolinguistics? There are numerous definitions of sociolinguistics. However, each of these definitions does not fail to acknowledge that sociolinguistics has to do with Tanguage use and a society’s response to it. Let us examine them. _ The study of the relationship between language and society, of language variation, and of attitudes about language. A branch of anthropological linguistics that studies how language and culture are related, and how language is used in different social contexts. A study of the relationship between language and social factors such as class, ethnicity, age and sex. The study of language in social contexts. The study of the sociological factors involved in the use of language, including gender, race, class, ete. The study of stylistic and social variation of language (vernacular). The study of language in relation to its socio-cultural context, Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context on the way language is used. The study of social and cultural effects on language. In all these definitions, it is clear that sociolinguistics is a discipline that yokes sociology with linguistics. Itis a branch of sociology and as a concept; it is concemed with how language use is a determinant linguistic requirement in a given society. Every society has linguistic codes acceptable for communication and interaction. Sociolinguistics show how groups in a given society are separated by certain social variables like ethnicity, religion, status, gender, level of education, age, etc. and how adherence to these variables is used to categorize individuals in social class or socio-economic classes. The social study of language is a modem linguistic paradigm because it was the modem linguists who first acknowledged and accepted that language by its nature is totally a social phenomenon. Ali the definitions here acknowledge that sociolinguistics has to do 4with language use and a society’s response to it. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in society. It is pr the type of accents people use and - most importantly - the reason why they choose to use one rather than the other. Grammatical structures and types of vocabulary are also of interest here. By and large linguists assume that speakers use language as a means of conveying social attitudes just like dress or leisure time activities, i.e. people use the accent of the social group they identify with or aspire to. Sociolinguistics a relatively recent discipline which investigates the possible reasons for language variation are and hence to understand more about the process of language change. Here we can distinguish two main types of change: (i) internal change which fakes place for structural reasons in a language, ¢.g. regularisation in grammar as with plural forms in English or German and (ii) external change which is triggered ultimately by social motivation, i.e. speakers change their language to convey a social message as when they are showing their identity with a sector of the society they live in. The varieties of language examined by sociolinguists are usually urban and in particular take account of the factors class, age and gender. The central element in a sociolinguist study is the linguistic variable - some item of language (phonological, morphological, syntactic or semantic) - which is suspected of marily concerned with varying systematically in correlation with the factors such mentioned. Sociolinguists collect data directly fiom speakers and do not use descriptions in books as their primary source, Various methods have been developed in sociolinguistics for ensuring that one's data is random and objective, Speakers can be recorded (on tape, for instance) in which case they are aware of this or by memory (where the Jinguist later on writes down what was said). The latter type of investigation is used when speakers are not supposed to realise they are being observed. One central topic in sociolinguistics is linguistic variation. The language that speakers use in their everyday interactions is remarkably varied. Speakers may use different linguistic items to express the same meaning. For example, speakers may use different lexical items to denote the same object or concept or use different grammatical constructions to express the same idea or proposition. Speakers may also display noticcable differences in the way they pronounce words and utterances, So, variation involves the lexicon, the grammar(morphology and syntax) as well as the phonology of a language. Linguistic variation may occur across speakers, reflecting their social class, age, gender, region, or ethnic group. In every language, there are linguistic correlates to a whole range of parameters including social stratification, age grading, gender, region and ethnicity. Linguistic Variation Linguistic variation oceurs also within the speech of a single speaker. A speaker does not speak the same all the time and her/his speech may vary according to the specific social context. People constantly exploit variation within the languages they speak for different purposes in accordance with the social contexts they find themselves in. Thus, one claim that is strongly made in sociolinguistics is that language exhibits considerable internal variation. More importantly, the patterns exhibited in this variation carry social meanings, such as signaling the relative (in)formality of the situation, indexing various relations among people (like power and solidarity), or indicating a speaker's social class, gender, age, ethnicity, occupation or geographicat region. Sociolinguistics is all about linguistic variation and seeks socially relevant explanations for regular patterns of variation in language use. However, there is one important caveat: while linguistic variation is commonly observed in the speech of individuals, there are also limits to that variation. In other words, linguistic variation is governed by a set of norms. The sociolinguist’s task, therefore, is to attempt to specify the norms that govern linguistic behaviour. Another interesting aspect of linguistic variation is its relation to language change. Variation in language allows and may even cause changes to occur within a language over time. Sociolinguistics and Sociology of Language Some investigators draw a distinction between sociolinguistics or micto- sociolinguistics and the sociology of language or macro-sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics is concerned with investigating the relationship between Janguage and society with the goal being a better understanding of the structure of language and of how language functions in communication, The equivalent goal in the sociology of language is trying to discover how social structure can be better understood through the study of language. The difference between sociolinguistics and the sociology of language is very much one of emphasis,according: xo whet ap be wort oe : 2 : I wie vind macro-soeiolingtist orci FE peterstanding of angus’ 28 necessary €0 nour OP ith ‘The development of sveiolinguistics since the i os 8 the activity of American linguists since ‘hed 2 aoe pioneering investigation of the English of i anese? erved at many new conclusions con cae ee stressed that 1) structural systems of the present and changes #0 4 in relation to each others 2) that ge varieties of the past should be investigate an be observed in progress in present-day languei ae in and 3) the fact that so-called free variation W25 not in fact free at all but determ! by deliberate, if not conscious, eboige on ine part of the speaker. Labov further stressed the need to collect data reliably. The Jinguist must be aware that an how the folloving features in his/her speech: 1) style shifting 2) varying degree of attention, i.e. some speakers pay great called 'cudiomonitoring’); in excited speech and the speaker is correspondingly diminished, 3) f the interview; it can vary Janguages Janguage change informant will s! (during an interview), attention to their own speech (s casual speech the attention paid by degree of formality, determined by the nature oj depending on the way the informant reacts to the interviewer and the situation he/she is placed in.Language Varieties Linguistic theorists have mainly been interested in the standardized forms of languages. In so doing, they have inevitably neglected the other varieties of language. “A variety is a neutral term which simply means any particular “way of speaking”: it is applicable to linguistic phenomenon we want to treat as a single unit” (Downes 1998: 17). It is a general concept that refers to any form of language. It is labelled to any language usage of a particular region and social group. It, therefore, includes, among other linguistic forms, creoles, pidgins, registers, idiolects, accents, dialects, languages, diglossia and multilingualism. Languages and dialects are given more weight. Dialects A dialect js a term that refers to any regional and social variety of language. Dialects are described by Hudson (1980) as “varieties which are not used in formal writing.” Linguists equally treat different language varieties. They consider each variety as a code with its own special set of rules. Haugen (1966: 100) gives the definition of dialects from a social point of view. He states that “as a social norm, [then,] a dialect is a language that is excluded from polite society.” A dialect is, therefore, considered as a subordinate variety of a language which lacks prestige, Actually, the claims that dialects are lacking prestige and inferior to language are social and political prejudices rather than linguistic facts. The term has been traditionally applied to a variety of language spoken in a certain geographical area. But currently, the term also includes social variation in language. Regional dialects are varieties of language spoken in distinct geographical areas, It indicates the region from which a person comes. Social dialects, which refer to non-regional differences, reflect the individual’s position in a community. It informs about the speaker’s ethni , gender, social class and age.Standard Languages A standard language is the second meaning of language. It differs from a dialect at the level of phonology, syntax and lexicon. It is a dialect which has been given the status of an official language. Therefore, it is a variety that has undergone the process of standardization, The process of standardization includes selection, codification, elaboration of function and acceptance, To develop a variety into a standard language, it has to be selected. As a result, the selected variety and its speakers gain prestige. It should be codified to have written dictionaries and written books. It must respond ‘o all the linguistic needs of different fields of human thought such as religion, Philosophy and technology. Ultimately, it must be accepted by the population as a national language. A language is superordinate to a dialect. Tt includes different dialects which are mutually intelligible. It is also used without reference to them. However, a dislect is used in reference to the language to which it belongs, Ii, thus, a subdivision of a language. A language can never become a dialect but a dialect can be promoted to become a language if it is favoured and supported Socially and politically. People who speak different dialects of the same language use the standardized form of language for better communication. Jn this context, Haugen (1966: 102) postulates that “a ‘language’ is the medium of communication between speakers of different dialects.” To make a distinction between a language and a dialect, linguists have proposed two criteria: Mutual intelligibility and possession of literature. If two varieties are mutually intelligible, they are dialects of the same language. If they are mutually unintelligible, the two varieties are different languages. The second criterion, the possession of literature, says that if a variety has literature, it is considered as a language, not a dialect.At first glance, to distinguish between a dialect and a language seems straightforward, Yet, a clase inspection of these two varieties has proven that the distinction becomes blurry as the notions of mutual intelligibility and the Possession of literature break down. Many studies have shown that there are some varieties which are mutually unintelligible but nonetheless are dialects of the same language. Possession of literature is not only restricted to languages but also to dialects as they have another kind of literature, an oral one. ‘The question is: How can a dialect be differentiated from a language? There are several points of judgment or criteria that may be considered. First, in terms of their sheer size, a language is bigger than a dialect. This could mean that geographically speaking, a language is spoken over a larger area than a dialect. Alternatively, it could mean that more people speak a language in comparison to those who speak a dialect, So, in terms of population of native speakers, a language is spoken by a larger population of people than a dialect. Dialects are often considered subsets of a language. In other words, a language contains many dialects. This can also mean that a language contains more items than one dialect (more lexical items, grammatical constructions, phonological features). For example, English is spoken in various dialects. There is a difference of size, because a language is larger than a dialect. A language contains more items than any of its dialects, This is the sense in which English is considered a language. A language contains the sum total of all the terms in all its dialects. Therefore, we can say that in terms of size, a dialect is a subordinate variety of a language. Another way in which the requirement of subordination is met is through the criterion of prestige (a necessary property of languages). So, the other contrast between a language and a dialect is a question of prestige. A language has prestige which a dialect lacks. Whether some variety is called a language or a dialect depends on how much prestige one thinks it has, and for most people this is a clear-cut matter, which depends on whether it is used in formal writing. 10i ialects, or * Accordingly, people refer to languages which are unwritten as dialects, or ‘mere dialects,” A related idea is that « language is usuatly understood to be the standard form of a given language and a dialect is usually understood to be a nonstandard form or substandard form, Another frequently used criterion is that of Mutual intelligibility (2 necessary Property of dialects). It refers to the ability of people to understand one another. 1ftwo varieties of speech are mutually intelligible, they are strictly dialects of the same language; if they are mutually unintelligible, they are different Janguages. In other words, if one person can understand another, they musi be speaking dialects of the same language while if one person does not understand the other Person, they must be speaking different languages. Therefore, dialects are often lity. The criterion seems simple, but there are many problem cases, Two regarded to have mutual intelli varieties may be partially intelligible ~ for example, because they share some vocabulary. Also, cultura or politcal factors may intervene, eausing two mutually intelligible varieties to be treated as different languages (such as Swedish and Danish) or two mutually unintelligible varieties to be treated as the same language (such as the varieties of Chinese), ‘What constitutes a anguage is offen a matter of its speakers’ perception or the boundaries of the nation state. For example, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish are, ‘oa great extent, mutually intelligible; but they are considered separate languages, rather than part of a dialect continuum (see below), because they ate the national Tanguages of separate states. What emerges from this language and a dialect is mostly done in socio-cultural terms not in purely discussion is that the distinction between a linguistic terms. In other words, a particular way of speaking (or variety) is considered a distinct language or a subordinated dialect because of socio-political ideologies, not because of linguistic differences between varieties, TT‘This point has long been made by the Russian sociolinguist Max Weinreich as follows: “a language is 2 dialect with an army and navy.” It means that every language is in fact a dialect; it is just that a language, but not a dialect, has the backing of political or economic power or nation-state power or quite figuratively an army and a navy. Dialect vs Accent Whether people think they speak a standard variety of English or not, they all speak with an accent. It is not accurate to say that some speakers have accents while others do not. We might feel that some speakers have very distinct or easily recognized types of accent while others may have more subtle accents or less noticeable accents, but every language user speaks with an accent. Technically, the term “accent” is restricted to the description of aspects of pronunciation that identify where an individual speaker is from, regionally or socially. It is different from the term dialect, which is used to describe features of grammar and vocabulary as well as aspects of pronunciation. So, the term “dialect” should not be confused with the term “accent”, While “accent” refers to pronunciation only, “dialect” refers to every aspect of language including pronunciation. Standard English is spoken in a variety of accents, with clear regional associations. We may speak of the American accent as against the British accent, the Canadian accent, the Indian accent or the Irish accent. Within the UK, we may speak of the southern British accent as against the northern British accent, of the West Midlands accent or the Black Country accent. In the USA, there are accents associated with the Greater New York City, New England and North Central US, South-castern US, and Western US. One aspect of pronunciation that sets these English accents apart is whether they are rhotic or non-rhotic or R-dropping. In Rhotic accents of English, /r/ is pronounced following a vowel, in such words as car, bird, early. A geographical 12‘rea in which this sound is used (such as much of south-west England, Scotland and Iicland) is called a rhotic area to be distinguished from non-rhotic areas (most of England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand). American English is generally spoken with a rhotic accent, despite the fact that we can hear some non- thatic accents in New England and north-central United States. Thus, we can say that many people who live in such places speak Standard English (because they show remarkable uniformity in vocabulary and grammar) and the differences are merely those of accent. So, they do not speak different Gialects but one variety (Standard English) with different accents. Dialectotogy Dialectology (also known as dialect geography) is the systematic study of Beographical dialects: ¢.g. in the preparation of a dialect atlas, or of dialect Srammars or dialect dictionaries of specific varicties. Within dialectology, the cxistence of different regional dialects is widely recognized. Dialectologists have been involved in the serious investigation of regional dialects and have devoted a lot of survey research to the identification of consistent features of speech found in one geographical area compared to another. These dialect surveys often involve painstaking attention to detail and tend to operate with very specific criteria in identifying acceptable informants. It is important to know if the person whose Speech you are recording really is a typical representative of the region’s dialect, Consequently, the informants in the major dialect Surveys of the twentieth century tended to be NORMS or “non-mobile, older, rural, male speakers,” Such speakers were sclected because it was believed that they were less likely to have influences from outside the region in their Speech. The detailed information obtained has provided the basis for a number of Linguistic Atlases of whole countries (e.g, England) and regions (c.g. the Upper Midwest area of the United States). 13NORM Acronym for ‘Non-mobile, Oldes, Rural, Male’, applied by LK Chambers and P. J, Trudgill to the kind of informant traditionally selected in jialect surveys. Linguistic atlas (or Dialect atlas) A map (or series of maps) displaying dialect information within a geographical area. Isoglosses and dialect boundaries One of the aims of a dialect survey is to find a number of significant differences in the speech of those living in different areas and to be able to chart where the boundaries are, in dialect terms, between those areas. An isogloss is a line drawn on a dialect map, showing the boundary of an area in which a linguistic feature (e.g. a sound, word, or grammatical form) is used. For example, the isogtoss marking those parts of England which pronounce the /r/ in such words as car ~ the rhotic ateas ftom the non-thotic areas where it is not pronounced. Another isogloss in England distinguishes the midlands and northem pronunciation of words like grass with an /ze/ from the southem one with an /a:/. A bundle of isoglosses in the same area indicates a firm dialect boundary. A note of caution is required with regard to dialect boundaries, The drawing of isoglosses and dialect boundaries is quite useful in establishing a broad view of regional diatects, but it tends to obscure the fact that, at most dialect boundary areas, one dialect or language variety merges into another. Keeping this in mind, we can view regional variation as existing along a dialect continuum rather than having sharp breaks from one region to the next. Received Pronunciation One English accent which has received a certain eminence is the accent known as Received Pronunciation (or RP). This accent is used by a small number of people in England, This accent is usually associated with a higher social or educational background, with the BBC, and is taught to students learning English as a second Janguage. Other names for this accent are the Queen’s English, Oxford English, and BBC English. The small number of speakers who 14Yaeene oe — in i eographic use RP do not identify themselves as coming from any particular geographica} region. RP is a non-localized accent. ; een. 1is impossible to speak English without an accent. RP is an accent, than a regional one. Study questions . What is the difference between an idiolect and a dialect? What is the difference between an accent and a dialect? . : What does it mean to say that RP is a social accent rather than a regional one? What does an isogloss represent in a linguistic atlas? . Consider the following statements about Standard English and try to decide whether you agree or disagree with them, providing a reason in each case for your decision, Standard English is not a language. Standard English is an accent, Standard English is a set of rules for correct usage 15Language Varieties Variation between dialects and languages occurs at the regional as well as the social level, The study of language variation is an important part of sociolinguistics, to the extent that it requires reference to social factors. Languages vary from one place to another, from one social group to another, and from one situation to another, Regional Varieties In general, each area is characterized by its regional variety. This Jinguistic variation may be phonological, lexical or even syntactic. A geographical area is then generally associated with a certain accent, vocabulary and perhaps also grammar. The boundary between a regional variety and another is usually indicated by geographical distance and natural barriers like mountains, rivers and forests. Like technological innovation, linguistic innovation, which consists of certain new vocabulary, pronunciation or even syntactic usage, spreads quickly from one town or city to another before it reaches the rural areas. For example, if a linguistic motivation started in Fez, we would expect it to spread in the nearby city of Meknes before it reaches rabat or Marrakesh. This is due to the sociocultural and economic importance of large urban centres and to the socioeconomic and demographic dependence of small villages and countrysides. The socioeconomic factor is, then, more significant than the proximity factor, A linguistic innovation will often be transmitted to a large town or city before it reaches a small village even when the latter is geographically closer to the urban centre where the innovation started. As a case in point, a linguistic innovation which originated in Fez would probably reach Meknes before it reached the rural area of Moulay yacoub even though the Jatter is geographically closer. Thus, the 16economic factors often play a more important role in the spreading of linguistic innovation than the geographical distance factor. Regional dialects may be arranged in a dialect continuum, a range of dialects distributed geographically across a territory, such that adjacent varieties are mutually intelligible but those at the extremes are not. Jn other words, while dialects at either end of a country may not be mutually intelligible, those that are Seographically contiguous will be, thus providing a continuum of mutual intelligibility across dialects of a language. The term dialeet chain is used similarly. One such continuum is said to stretch from Amsterdam in the Netherlands through Germany to Vienna in Austria, and another from Paris in France to the south of Italy. Speakers who move back and forth across border areas (such as between Holland, Germany and Austeia or France and Italy), using different dialects with may be described as bidialectal (ie. speaking two dialects), Most of speaking one dialect “in the street” some ease, us grow up with some form of bidialectalism, among family and friends, and having to learn another dialect “ there are different languages used in the street and in ‘in school.” However, in some places, school. When we talk about people knowing two distinct languages, we describe them as bilingual. Social Varieties Like regional varieties, social varieties involve characteristic differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Each social variety reflects the speech of given social class. Regional dialects and social dialects are not completely different varieties; rather they constitute a continuum, Here again socioeconomic factors play a crucial role since the variety one speaks reveals one’s social status, For instance, rural people and working class people speak a variety which is generally said to be corrupt or low. In working class English, speakers produce 7a ae sentences which do not always obey the prescriptive rules of English grammar; as an illustration, they may drop the third person singular present tense ~ {s}: a. She go. for She goes. b. John sick. for John is sick. ‘They may also use double negation, as in a.Hecan’tread nothing. for —_—=ihe can’t read anything. By contrast, the upper class people use a variety which is very similar to the standard variety. In England, for example, the upper class people use ir variety is meant to differentiate them from the working class group. In Morocco and in the Maghreb at large, the highest social class speakers and the educated use French in their vocabulary activities, or a variety closer to Standard Arabic Standard English because they are educated, and theit refereed to as Educated Spoken Arabic. In the case of linguistic innovation, if a new word is, or it may reach it Jast. The opposite is also true: for example, invented in the upper class group, if an innovation originates in the lowest social class, then that innovation may not speech of the upper class people at all, or itamay reach them have any effect on th as it were. tate, To putit differently, the innovation follows the social hierarchy, 18Langues? varieties ed ina f language ee of greater OF which is Register and style / A register (sometimes called @ style) isa variety 0 eset social setting. Settings may be defi or in terms of socially recognized events: such as bi .s when talking 10 small children, ora, e dozens. ‘There are also registers a: terest. grOUPS> jargon refers specifi aby talk, joking register ssociated with cally tO the particular formality, used in many western culture: used in teasing or playing ® particular professions OF in vocabulary associated with such registers. jar speech commun! unlike dialects, which are used bY particul jal settings or social groupings registers are as ones, or fevels of formality, Dialect and Fe: ons of variation. For example, Trudgill mple of a nonstandard dialect ities and associated with geograph sociated with particular situations, Purp gister tray be thought of as different dimensi (1980) suggests the following sentence 28 2 exal used with the technical register of physical geography: vo esters what we saw in thent U-shaped valleys. of registers, which they use in different There was 4 by the setting and topic of speech, as Most speakers command a range ‘ons. The choice of register is affecte as the relationship that exists between the speakers. may also change during the course of 2 The appropriate form of language communicative event as the relationship between speakers changes, or different situatie well ay shift styles as their perception of an _sovial facts become relevant. Speakers Mm: event in progress changes. Consider the following telephone call to the Cuban Interest Section in Washington, DC. Caller: gBs la embajada de Cuba? (Is this the Cuban embassy?) Receptionist: Si. Digame. (Yes, may J help you?) 19Caller: Es Rosa. (It's Rosa.) Receptionist: ;Ab Rosa! ,Céma anda eso? (Oh, Rosa! How's it going?) Al first, the receptionist uses a relatively formal register, as befits her professional role. After the caller identifies herself the receptionist recognizes that she is speaking to a friend, and shifts to an informal register of colloquial Cuban Spanish. This shift is similar to metaphorical code-switching, but since it involves styles or registers, is considered an example of style shifting. Idiolect An idiolect is defined as the language use typical of an individual person. An individual's idiolect may be affected by contact with various regional or social dialects, professional registers, and in the case of multilinguals, various languages. For scholars who view language from the perspective of linguistic competence, essentially the knowledge of language and grammar that exists in the mind of an individual language user, the idiolect is a way of referring to this specific knowledge. For scholars who regard Janguage as @ shared social practice, idiolect is more like a dialect with a speech community of one individual, Accent an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation. An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside (a geographical or regional accent), the socio-economic In Jinguisties, status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language (when the language in which the accent is heard isnot their native language), and so on. Accents ty] consonants, stress, and prosody; although grammar, age characteristies often vary concurrently with accent, the word pically differ in quality of voice, pronunciation of vowels and semantics, vocabulary, and other langu: 20yn and the word ‘dialect! ‘accent'refers specifically to the differences in pronuncial .sses the broader set of linguistic differences; often ‘accent’ is a subset of encompa: ‘dialect’, 21Language Contact Diglossia In diglossia, a standard language is considered as the ‘high’ variety and its dialect as the ‘low’ variety without denying the fact that each of the varieties has a function within the society. Coined in the early thirties, the term ‘diglossia’ is used by Margais to describe the Arabic language situation. Ferguson (1959) introduced the term to sociolinguistics of the English language. By this term, he refers to the linguistic situation in which two distinct codes are employed for different functions. Diglossie language situations “are usually described as consisting of two (or more) varieties that co-exist in a speech community, the domains of linguistic behaviour are parcelled out in a kind of complementary distribution” (Sehiffman 1997; 205). Ferguson (1959) calls the standard variety the High (H) and the colloquial variety, the Low (L). Bach variety is used in different situations. The H variety is usually associated with religion and written literature and is often acquired through formal education. For the L variety, it is used in casual occasions and is the mother tongue of many people. These different varieties are complementary in the sense that each variety has its own functions within the society. The Arab world is, among other defining cases, one of the examples cited by Ferguson (1959) to be a diglossic language situation. He describes classical Arabic as the H variety and dialectal Arabic as the L variety. Nevertheless, claim. He indicates that the situation in the Arab world in general and in Morocco Ennaji (2001: 49) calls into question the validity of Ferguson’s in particular is not diglossic but ‘quadriglossic’. He talks about Classical Arabic, Standard Arabic, Modern Moroccan Arabic and Dialectal Arabic as varieties that have different functions in the Moroccan society. In fact, linguistic diversity does 2re varieties are within a single language but also in multilingual not only occur wher settings. netions of high and low varieties High Low Used in Administration Folk Literature Literature Oral popular Literature Written Media Hearth and home use Education Streets and markets Law Everyday communication Government Intimacy Status of high and low varieties The functions established by society for each of the high and low varieties determine their status: | High — Prestigious (religious prestige) Sign of education Carries the cultural heritage Embodies the past, present and future of all societies using it, (take the example of classical Arabic, which is a symbol of the unity of the Arab world) Stable Doesn't have any native speakers. Has standard pronunciation Allows communication in dialectal situations eross- Primary group solidarity — ‘Low ‘Much criticized and negatively valued | Sign of ignorance Carries a stigma Subject to change and also decay Has native speakers. Doesn't have a settled orthography Doesn't have a standard pronunciation because there are different varicties Diaglossia as conceived by Fishman Initially, the term diaglossia was coined by Ferguson (1959) to refer to those situations where we have clear division of functions between two varieties of the same language, one being considered as low and the other as high. Ferguson 23exemplified this by such apparently diverse speech communities as Arabic, English and French Creole, modern Greek and Swiss German. This is Ferguson's classical definition of diglossia, Fishman (1970), on the basis of investigations done on diaglossic communities, redefined the term diglossia and revised its recognition. For him, diaglossia exists even in the situation of tvo different languages existing side by side, ie. there is no restriction for the existence of varieties of the same language. From Fishman's perspective, diglossia exists when there are two distinct Janguages (not two varieties of the same language) that fulfill two distinct functions. For Fishman, there is a distinction to be done between bilingualism and diglossia. He presents bilingualism as being a trait ofthe individual, and diglossia as being, essentially a situation of two different functions of two languages. The latter situation is that of societal bilingualism (diaglossia) and the former is bilingualism on the level of the individual Jn other words, focus with bilingualism is essentially on individual linguistic behavior whereas with diglossia it is on the linguistic organization at the socio-cultural level. Fishman demonstrates that it is possible for there to be four sets of relationship between bilingualism and diglossia (a) diaglossia without bilingualism,(b) diaglossia and bilingualism, (c) bilingalism without diaglossia and (d) neither bilingualism nor diaglossia. There are situations in which diglossia | obiains whereas bilingualism is generally absent .| Here, two or more speech communities are united religiously, politically or economically into a single functioning unit. However, their linguistic repertoires are discontinuous due to role specialization. Examples of such situations are listed by Kloss, (1966). Pre-First World War European elites often stood in this1. Diglossia without bilingualism inirymen, the elites speaking able H tongue for their mes and in various alationship with their cou French or some other fashion group purposes (at various tt st Danish, Salish, Provengal, Russian, etc.) and not necessarily intra place: the masses speaking another, Tinguistically related, language for theit intragroup purposes. Since the majority of elites and the majority of the masses never interacted with one another they did not form a single speech community. ‘A similar situation can arise in the third world where an alite may choose to operate in the language of the previous coloniser and either avoid contact with the masses or communicate with them in some pidgenised variety of the high. Since the majority of the elites and the majority of the masses led lives characterized by extremely narrow role repertoires their linguistic repertoires too were too narrow to permit widespread } societal bilingualism to develop. Nevertheless, the body politic in all of its economic and national manifestations tied these two groups together into a “unity” that revealed an upper and a lower class, each with a language appropriate to its own restricted concerns. Thus, the existence of national diglossia does not imply widespread bilingualism amongst rural or recently urbanized Aftican groups (as distinguished from Wesiernized elites in those settings); nor amongst most lower caste Hindus, as distinguished from their 25more fortunate compatriots the Brahmins, nor amongst most lower class French-Canadians, as distinguished from their upper and upper middle-class city cousins, etc. (Fishman 1970) ZDigiossia bilingualism and ‘A rare but possible situation in which « large proportion of the population can operate in more than one nationally recognised code is that in which not only is there a functional division between the two codes, but also a general consensus that one of the codes is to be considered as higher than the other. | ‘An example of this type of nation is Paraguay, where almost the entire population speaks both Spanish and Guarani (Rubin, 1962; 1968). The formerly monolingual rural population has added Spanish to its linguistic repertoire in order to talk and write about education, religion, government, high culture and social distance or, more generally, the status stressing spheres; whereas the majority of city dwellers (being relatively new from the country) maintain Guarani for matters of intimacy and primary group solidarity even in the midst of Spanish urbanity.1 A further example is the Swiss-German cantons in which thie entire population of school age and older alternates between High German (HI) and Swiss German (L), each with its own firmly established and highly valued functions (Weinreich, 1951; 1953; Ferguson, 1959). 263,Bilingualism without diaglossia ee Co Ie A the throughout . mmiddle-cls® males 7 z vyernacult (Egyptian, i nie) i a i qraqui, etc-) Arabic and, not i aqui, syrian, Lebanese an ee cpoench & isteaven me ses of jntragrouP ish, most ysually) for pup’ oe nication (Ferguso® scientific OF technological commu) 1959; Nader, 19625 Blanc, 1964)- There are, 2° doubt, important implications involved in pilingual-ciaglossic speech communities in respect of language planning in general and education copper and upper 5 that of ¢ world who Arabi in particular. acs oF a | mon for certain sections of @ Tt is coml erate in more than one language for) community 10 oP' In Belgium, for their everyday social interactions. example, is not a diaglossic community even if, along the Dutch French language boundary, jivision between the roles that the individual there is a functional di Dutch speaker is likely to play in the Dutch language and in French since there is no agreement among Belgians that either language is H or L. The two are rather assigned a co-equal national official status and this makes of Belgians bi ingual citisens and of | Belgium a non diglossic nation. Gampérs (1962) and Fisherman (1965) argue that Only very small, isolated and undifferentiated speech communities may be said veal ch | mmunities to reveal neither 27diglossia nor bilingualism . ‘The little sole differentiation and frequent face-to-face interaction 4-Neither diglossia | between all members of the speech community make it nor bilingualism that no totally differentiated registers or varieties may establish themselves. for such reasons it is difficult to find or isolate a linguistic situation where there is wl bilingualism nor diglossia because all communities seem to have linguistic repertoires that contain certain terms unknown to certain members of the speech community, and certain terms that are used differently by different subsets of speakers. Final Notes Fishman has extended Ferguson's original formulation of diglossia and proposed the above mentioned four possible types of relationships between diglossia and bilingualism. For Fishman (1967), bilingualism is the speaker's ability to use more than one language. ... while diglossia is the co-existence of two varieties of the same language (according to Ferguson) or two languages (according to Fishman) that fulfill distinct functions. Fishman (2003) exeraplifies this with the linguistic situation of Hi German and L Swiss German in Switzerland (varieties of the same language), and the linguistic situation in Paraguay of Spanish and Guarani (different languages). Although almost everybody speaks both varieties, the high variety, Spanish, is used in domains such as education, religion and government, while the low variety, Guarani, is used in everyday intra-group encounters. Based on the Fishman's model (Fishman, 1967), North African Arabic, known as Maghrebi Arabic, is classified as a linguistic situation in the speech community characterised by diglossia with bilingualism. The intense language contact between related and unrelated languages has resulied mainly in two widespread linguistic phenomena: code-switching and borrowing. 28Bilingualism and multilingualism are used interchangeably to refer to the mastery and use of more than one language in a community. While bilingualism is the ability to master the use of two languages, multilingualism is the ability to master the use of more than two languages. Multilingualism is defined by Downes (1998: 46) as “a situation in which two or more distinct languages form the repertoire of a community.” This definition views multilingualism as a societal phenomenon. It is concerned with issues such as the number of varieties spoken in a given society, their status and roles. Clyne (1997: 301) gives a broader definition of this term noting that “[T]he ‘erm multilingualism can refer to either the language use or the competence of an individual or io the language situation in an entire nation or society.” In addition ‘a the perception of multilingualism as a societal phenomenon, this quotation cacompasses another phenomenon of multilingualism, which is individual. It is related to issues such as how many languages an individual speaks and how he/she acquires them. Societal multilingualism, which is the task of sociolinguists par excellence, is created by contextual factors namely, migration, cultural contact, colonialism and the spread of international languages, When a speaker of one language settles Jn an area where another Janguage is used, the speaker inevitably maintains and ‘asters another language which is different from his/her mother tongue. Cultural contact occurs when a society adopts a cultural institution of another society. Religion and literature are good examples to this factor, Colonialism results when a colonial language becomes part of the colonized culture and continues to playa significant role in a society even after its independence. Other reasons include the spread of international languages and the scientific and technological dependence of the speakers of one language on the speakers of another. 29While diglossi ith varieti 7 iglossia occurs with varieties which are “mutually intelligible”, multi ism i ; ilingualism includes languages which are often “mutually unintelligible”, There are some situations which include both multilingualism and diglossia or “quadrigloss as it is the case in Morocco, These different varieties, being the result of the constant changes that languages undergo, enhance the linguistic diversity whic! evitably enriches the culture of a particular society. Language Dominance Researchers suggest that native-like proficiency in both languages, referred to as “true”bilingualism, is rare (Cutler, Mehler, Norris, & Segui, 1992; Grosjean, 1982). An additional consideration in the definition of bilingualism includes the concept of language dominance. Most bilinguals have stronger skills in one language, their dominant language. However, their dominant language need not be their L1. In addition, itis possible to show language dominance in one language for one domain (e.g. L1 for home) and dominance in the other language for another domain (e.g. L2 for work). Types of Bilingualism! Multilingualism One factor to consider in defining types of bilingualism is when the two Janguages are acquired in relation to each other. Simultaneous bilingualism is considered to occur when two languages are acquired from birth or prior to one year of age (De Houwer, 2005). Cases of pure, simultaneous bilingualism with neither language being dominant ate also rare. For sequential bilingualism, when one language is acquired following another, the age of 2 acquisition is important (lege, 1992). Researche 1.2 acquisition occur at younger age organization is different for L2 acquisition after 5 years of age in contrast to before 1s are discovering that sensitive periods for native-like s than previously believed. For example, brain age 5, when nativerlike ozganization for language is possible (DeHTouwer, 2005; Weber-Fox & Neville, 1996), Therefore, children who acquire the L2 at schoot native speakers, even if they have high levels of L2 ge learners (preadolescents and older), age would not be considered proficiency. Concerning older langue 30= i i duce spec of acquisition is related to the learner’s ability to perceive and produce speech fa lated to L2 sounds in their second language (Flege, 1992). Another factor relat Pronunciation is the frequency and continued use of the L1. In addition to classifying when languages are acquired in relation to each other, the reasons why the L2 is acquired can be used to categorize bilinguals (Valdez, & Figueora, 1994). For example, elective bilinguals learn another language in a formal setting, typically as an additional course credit at school, while continuing fouse their Limost of the time. ‘They are also classified as “additive bilinguals” because the L2 is leamed in addition to an L1 that is maintained at a high level, Circumstantial bilinguals, however, learn their L2 because they are required to do so to attend school or to find work, They are usually immigrants learning the Societal language. These bilinguals are often classified as “subtractive bilinguals” because L1 skills usually decrease or are lost in favour of the majority language, the L2. Subtractive bilingualism is particularly common in children of immigrants. 31Code-swit ching Code-switching is a common linguistic behaviour among bilinguals. It is the shifting from one language system or code to another. This switching from one type of code to another may take place in a single discourse, often involving, stretches of more than one sentence, or within the same sentence. For example, two Moroccan businessmen generally code-switeh from French to Arabic or vice versa when they discuss a business topic. If the latter changes to home matters or personal problems, then they may switch, for example to Morocean Arabic oF to Berber, if they happen to be Berberophon sentences dominated by Moroccan Arabic syntax, as in Mla tlata, es, It is common to hear French J- Le Dirham a été devalue hadi juj d Imarrat w] “The Dirham has been devalued twice or three times.” In other case, code-witching involves lexical items only; these are called sandwich words or switch words, For instance, a Freach word may be inserted in the middle of an Arabic sentence, as in: 2- sir Idarkum ja had I kriminel d Iwill. «Go home you criminal of misery.” h terin criminel is introduced to the sentence. In 2, the French discourse, a switch word in Arabic It is also possible that, in a French switch, for example, from French to Arabic: dimudir, huwalli gal blli.. 5 mistake; it was he who said th; provokes a complete 3. ...c’était la faute ...Tt was the director’ Here the switch-word is Imudir which triggers the switching from French to Moroccan Arabic. Scholars use different names for various types of switching. We will show examples using English and Igbo languages: Inter-sentential switching is switching outside the sent example at sentence or clause boundaries. ence or clause level, for 32use. ence OF clal B into language -tohing within a 2m" e* rae or from language atid switeb.) jdhin a word its 1 switchiin ing is switobing @° mmon jintra-sente! thing is switching a-sententia > Inte > Tag-swil A. CThis is 2.60 > Intra-word swite boundary. : Code-switching is 4 commo! the Maghreb. It is Juin Morocco and the rest o When a bilingual where only French or Arabi be used, he or 8 e code-switching is stigmatized and consi it is a rule-governed code, troduce only gramm: lexical items used in morpheme elf, such as ata “Arabie-French bilinguals” n characteristic of sed in informal sit tuations, speaker is in @ situation pe usually avoids © dered impolite as there are atical spec tut rately in formal conversations ic must ode- switching. This is becaus jn formal contexts. But linguistically, sms which help the bilingual speaker to in the French les of Moroccan or (Dialectal) syntactic patie sentences involving code-switching. Generally, code-switching obey the basic morphosyntactic rul Arabic syntax. The process of borrowing occur self bilingual. According to Hudson (1980:50), 3 when one or several individuals are bilingual or when a country is its there is borrowing “when an item is taken over lock, stock and barrel from one variety into another’, For example, there are a lot of French words that have infiltrated Moroccan Arabic, keeping their French pronunciation: 4» shrit les billet, ‘I bought the tickets’ 5- klina des brocheties, “We had some shish kabab.’ Here the words les billets and des brochettes ai i me French way, but they are fully integrated in s vane a . ‘ i a fit in the right slots where their equivalents in Nee a . ae speakers know consciously that these are French ee ee nt from code-switching where there is a switch om itch from 33By and large, there is a relationship between code-switching and word- borrowing. However, distinguishing code-switching and borrowing is not an easy matter. It is claimed in the literature that borrowed words are more integrated into the L1 phonology than switched words; nonetheless, there are many recognizable borrowing which exhibit little phonological integration. For Poplack and Sakoff (1984), there are two essential criteria for characterizing loan words: (i) frequency of use and (ii) morphophonologial assimilation. According to Scotton (1988:159), the distinction between cade-switching and word-borrowing ca be clarified “if it is approached in terms of social content, not structure”. In other terms, a borrowed word which is highly frequent and shows a great degree of social integration, or acceptably can be interpreted as an instance of @ loan word whereas one that exhibits little social integration can be called code-switching. 34SOMOUINGIIS Speech Communities A speech community can be defined as a community in which the same language is used by the people belonging to this community. In this connection, Hymes (1977:51) writes: A speech community is defined {...] tautologically but radically, as a community sharing knowledge of rules for the conduct and interpretation of speech. Such sharing comprises knowledge of at least one form of speech, and knowledge also of its patterns of use. The phrase speech community or language community is, however, vague and should be interpreted with some flexibility. Gumpers (1982) employs the expression of linguistic community to vefer to a small group of people that is distinguished by a specific form of speceh. For instance, the Morocean language community is part of the Maghrebi language community which is itself part of the Arab language community. It is important to note in this respect that every large language community is characterized by striking differences of dialect and accent, The Arab language community which covers the Arab world is a good instance of this sort of language variation. It comprises many different dialects of Arabic €.8,, Palestinian Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, Iraqi Arabic, Saudi Arabic, Alperian Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. It also involves a wide array of accents; for example, the word Zama://(beauty) is pronounced as/dZama:/ in Iraqi Arabic and /gama:l/ in Egyptian Arabic. In Moroccan and Algerian Arabic, we have the word /¢lait or /elah/ (why) pronounced as /ity or /is/ in Egyptian Arabic and in Gulf Arabic, respectively. - Similarly, in the English language community, there exist many accent and dialect distinctions. Thus, important differences occur so far as accent and dialect. are concerned when there is a large language community. 35Pidgin and Creole Languages Pidgins Pidgins are generally said to be simplified varieties used for the purposes of trade and business; however, this does not mean that all pidgins are trade languages, nor that all trade languages are pidgins. Pidginization may be defined as the process whereby a new language or variety is created out of two already available languages or varieties. Pidgins, which have practical functions, such as usage in trade or exchange services, serve to establish communication and maintain relationships between people or groups belonging to different communities. Additionally, pidgins are not spoken by members of the same community; hence they cannot be considered as vernaculars, nor can they be associated with the identity or cultural authenticity of any single group. Pidgins have the following properties which differentiate them from other tanguages and varieties. First, they are not native tongues of anyone, and therefore they are bound to dieif they are not developed into independent languages through the process of creolization, Second, they have no inflectional morphology in the sen: and the copula to se that they often lack inflectional morphemes like the third present tense (-5), be, At times, independent words are used instead of inflectional morphemes. For example, consider this sentence from an English pidgin spoken in western islands of the South Seas called Beach-la-Mar: «What for you wipe hands belonga you on clothes belonga essepoon?” “Why did you wipe your hands on the napkin?” (Source: Bloomfield 1933: 472) Notice the distortion of English syntax, the lack of inflectional morphotogy in this example and the dominance of English vocabulary. 36, pidgins are based on specific languages, generally languages which are spoken worldwide or reputed to be trade or colonial languages. Most of the available pidgins are related to English, French, Portuguese, German and Dutch; for example, Tok Pisin, spoken in New Guinea, is a pidgin based on English, The different African communities of immigrants in France have developed a pidgin the vocabulary of which is based on French; it is used for communicative Purposes, the aim being to reduce the gap between the different African groups or immigrants, on the one hand, and the French natives, on the other hand, Similacly, in Morocco, during the French colonization, Moroccans spoke a piginized variety of French in order to communicate with the French administrators and military officers. This pidgin has practically disappeared with the advent of Independence {in 1956, and with the departure of the French and European communities frorn the country. ‘Thus, pidgins are simplified varieties of ‘powerful’ languages; their lack of inflectional morphology, and their simplified phonology and syntax made them quite easy to learn by the ‘dominant’ and the “dominated” communities. Bloomfield (1933) treats pidgins as similar to child language and compares them to the Tanguages used by adults to talk to babies, or by natives to talk to foreigners, or by masters to communicate with their servants, Atkinson etal. (1982) eompare the development of pidgins to second language leaming, with the input being the different languages spoken by different communities available, and the oulput being a simplified variety called the pidgin. Pidgins may also turn into native languages through the creolization process, as explained in the following section, Creoles Creoles are different ftom pidgins in that (a) they have native speakers and, (6) linguistically, they have a richer vocabulary and syntax. ‘They are usually considered normal languages, although they have special origins, namely 37pidgins. A creole is born when children begin learning a pidgin as their native Janguage. According to estimates, there exist at least 10 million people who speak ereole languages, most of whom are found in the Caribbean islands. French-based ercoles alone account for nearly 5 million speskers found in Mauritus, Haiti, Martinique and other places in the Caribbean. Maltese (in Malta) is an Arabic~ based creole; other creoles are related to other languages in Africa and Asia. Scholars have noted that there are similarities particularly in the vocabulary and grammar of many French-besed creoles around the world. Others, such as Hymes (1971), have noticed similarities between all the creoles that are based on the uropean languages. According to Whinnom (1971), cited ia Atkinson ef al (1982), these creoles are historically derived from a Portuguese pidgin which has been in use since the 16" century in West Africa. This hypothesis stipulates that the vocabulary of this pidgin has been enriched over he centaries, but its syntax has not undergone any substantial changes. However, one might ask the question why there are Linguistic correspondences even between ereoles which are not genetically related. One theory states that these similarities are accounted for by the common African origin of most of the slaves and immigrants using these different creoles. When the official language of the state is a language on which the creole is based, the ercole of the standard language are merged so that there is only a dialectal distinction, generally reflecting social stratification in the country. This is the case of Guyana, which according to DeCamp (1971), is a good example of “postereole continnum”, where the creole continues to be affected by, aid to be dependent on, the standard variety, especially in terms of vocabulary and structure, Nevertheless, there is much linguistic variation between the creole Janguage and the other existing varieties, especialy atthe level of syntax. These differences are due to the fact that initially there were remarkable differences 38between the standard or dominant language and the pidgin from which the creole language subsequently developed as soon as it acquired its native speakers. In other contexts, the creole may be promoted to the status of official Janguage, with the proviso that it goes through the standardization process, or it may be demoted to the level of patois, which is the French term for unwritten regional varieties. Lingua Francas Lingua francas are the languages or varieties which are popular and widely used for trade and communication purposes by almost everybody in a community where many languages and dialects are used. In other words, any language can function as a lingua franca. English, for example, has been termed the lingua franca of the world simply because it is used all over the globe by different groups with different native languages. Thus, tourists, businessmen and foreign students of different nationalities find themselves speaking English to each other because that is the only language that they have in common; they cannot use their own native languages for these are alien to their addressees, French is also used as a lingua franca in France by many groups of immigrants from different linguistic backgrounds for reasons of commerce and communication. In Morocco, Moroccan Arabic is used as a lingua franca by the speakers of the different and at times mutually unintelligible Berber dialects, namely Tarifit in the north, Tamazight in the Middle Atlas, and Tashthit in the Souss; for instance, since Tarifit and Tamazight are not completely mutually intelligible, in_ the sense that the Tarifit and ‘Tamazight users can hardly understand each other, their speakers use Moroccan Arabic instead in order to communicate or establish transactional and human relations amongst themselves. Thus, Moroccan Arabic is the lingua franca of Morocco. 39Language and Thought The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (SWH) The relationship between Janguage and thought has been a subject of considerable interest over the years. It has occupied philosophers, linguists, anthropologists and psychologists for centuries. It is considered one of the main topics of psycholinguisties. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis has changed the way many people look at language. It has influenced many scholars and opened up large areas of study. SWH is named after the linguist and the anthropologist Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Whort. This hypothesis has two versions, the strong and the weak, ** The Strong Version of SWH ‘The sirong version of the hypothesis expresses an extreme viewpoint, 1 states that Janguage determines thought and ‘emphasizes that the determining effect of language on thought is absolute, It suggests that there is no thought without language and language and thought are identical. This extreme version. des the possibility of jranslatability between languages. Yet, it does not al has two exclu exclude the possibitity of bitingualism. It argues that the bil incompatible views of the world, allowing him to switch from one workl te another as he switches from one language to another. ‘The linguistic categories we use determine the perception of things in a certain way. The behaviour of the individual toward a group of people is also determined by language. For example, ‘uncle’ in the English language refers to the mother’s brother and father’s brother. According to this concept, these members of the family are perceived in the same way and the behaviour toward them is the same since one word is used to refer to both members. The equivalent word for ‘uncle’ in Arabic is xaal and gamm. xaal refers to the mother’s brother and gam to the father’s brother. These two members are seen differently and the 40fer to them. The behaviour toward them is different since two distinet words re’ therefore, constructs reality differently. Being a speaker of different languages, ‘0 different speaker of English and Arabic, I have to say that I view the world in twe ways. 1 have two different attitudes and even two different personalities, depending on which language J use. Language, therefore, forces multilingual people to see the world in a multidimensional way- The Weak Version of SWH The weak version holds that thought is affected and influenced by language. It recognizes that there is indeed some effect on the perception of one’s language. It does not define one’s view of the world. The structure of language does not determine the world view but is still influential in predisposing speakers of a language toward adopting a particular world view. This version does not exclude the possibility that languages come into contact to give birth to translation and bilingualism. To support this version, Ferraro (2002: 117-118) suggests the tests of Carrol and Casagrande (1960) and Ervin Tripp (1964). ‘The first experiment, known by Carrol and Casagrande’s colour and Shape saliency, is carried out on Navaho. This ianguage is known by the fact that many of its noun classes are based on shape. To lear this language, children have to know the shape of objects to put them on the right noun class. They devise the experiment to test whether Navaho and English speakers bchave similarly or differently according to their awareness of shape. They give a white rope, red rope and a red stick to Navaho-speaking Navaho children and English-speaking Navaho children to put them in the right class noun to test whether shape or colour is more salient. They find out that shape is more dominant then colour in the answers of Navaho-speaking Navaho children. Ervin Tripp (1964) is among the scholars who have tested this hypothesis. He asked Japanese-American women the same questions in English and Japanese. He found out that each woman gave different answers in English and Japanese for 41the same question. For example, he asked a bilingual woman to finish the statement “real friends should. The respondent replied in English: “be very frank”, When asked the same question at 2 different time in Japanese, she answered: “help each other”. ‘These two tests show that language influences our perception of the world. Accordingly, they are support for the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in its weak version. In fact, this version of the hypothesis is more difficult to reject once it is widely accepted today, However, the fact that members of different cultures see the world Gifferently because they use diffcrent languages would attract few followers today. It has strong evidence against it, namely the impossibility of translation between languages. For this reason, it remains a hypothesis rather than a widely accepted fact. a2Language and Sex ge reflects whether that speaker is male or female, A speaker's languay male orf stic studies, the language of men is quite different According to many sociolingui from that of women. The differences These differences generally cover pronunciation instance, women in many societies tend to ‘an be either insignificant or considerable. n, vocabulary and grammar. For use more tag questions and exclamations than men. In Morocco, expressions like: a. jak? “isn’t it?” b, wili! interjection of surprise c.mslIxir ‘good evening’ are very common in the speech of Moroccan women; for example, nts Ixir, is used by women almost at any time of the day (except in the early morning), although strictly speaking, it should be employed only in the evening. Educated women tend to speak French or an elevated form of Moroccan Arabic, using a prestigious accent. In England, women also prefer Standard English, which they consider to be ‘clean’ and ‘fashionable’. This tendency is due to the fact that women pay more attention to social status than men do. This might be said to stem from the relatively inferior social status in which they are kept. ‘The speech of men is imbued with words and linguistic forms which indicate virility and manhood. In the speech of working class men, for example, a lot of taboo and vulgar words, also called four-letter words, are used. The use of such words is socially and educationally incongruous with women, for it is considered immoral and dirty. However, in a group of females only, vulgar words may be ai times uttered for fun or for a change, to express intimacy. In Morocco, rural women are not generally supposed to refer to their husbands by their first name; instead they use expressions such as: a. huwa “he/him’ b, razli “my husband? 43